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In the UK, more than 600,000 citizens have so far received a vaccine with the active ingredient Biontech / Pfizer. This was announced by the London Ministry of Health.
Mexico and Chile were also the first countries in Latin America to begin vaccinating the population. The start of vaccination in Mexico was broadcast live during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s morning press conference on Thursday. The head of nursing at the intensive care unit at the Rubén Leñero Hospital in Mexico City was the first Mexican woman to receive the corona vaccine, according to the Mexican newspaper. The universal reported.
Mexican President López Obrador has been pushing a contradictory corona strategy. Mexicans were asked to stay home and eventually refrain from the Christmas holidays. But the left-wing populist, like the Brazilian head of state, Jair Bolsonaro, rejected the restrictions. According to official figures, at least 120,000 crown-related deaths have been registered in Mexico so far, the fourth highest number in the world.
Switzerland has now also approved the Biontec and Pfizer vaccine and started administering it to the population. Argentina is the second country after Belarus that allows vaccination with the Russian agent Sputnik V.
Trucks in South East England are rolling again
After days of inactivity, goods can be returned to France from the British port of Dover via the Eurotunnel. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asked drivers to be patient. He warned that they had to follow instructions “to get the traffic moving.” Thousands of vehicles are still waiting in the southeast of England, including a few hundred from Germany. The prerequisite for entering the EU is a negative corona test from the respective truck driver.
After a highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus spread across the UK, France closed its borders. Numerous trucks quickly got stuck in the region around Dover. At the disused Manston Airport alone, a good 30 kilometers north of the city, 3,700 vehicles were parked. After days of negotiations, an agreement was reached. But first the British authorities had to install test stations.
Because, despite the announcement of the reopening of the borders, there was no progress for a long time, some drivers lost their temper. There were clashes with police in Dover and at least one man was arrested. “We only have two mobile food stations for about 2,000 drivers,” a Polish trucker quoted the PA news agency as saying. “We waited two hours in the rain for the hamburger.” Everyone is upset and hungry.
Trade associations warn that long delays could lead to supply gaps, for example of fruits and vegetables, which Britain largely imports from the EU. To help with deliveries, Lufthansa transported 80 tonnes of fruit and vegetables to England on a cargo plane.
Another virus variant detected in Great Britain
Two cases of a crown mutant from South Africa have been detected in Great Britain. The variant will be examined in the Porton Down lab, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. According to the information, it is the mutant with the designation 501.V2. Last Friday, South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that 501.V2 was circulating in his country.
Those infected are contact persons of those infected from South Africa in recent weeks. “This new variant is extremely worrying because it is even more transferable and appears to have mutated more than the (first) new variant,” the minister said. The first modified variant had previously been discovered in Great Britain.
The number of infected people in Italy exceeds two million
In Italy, the number of new infections increased by 18,040 to 2,009 million in 24 hours. This makes the country that was particularly affected by the first corona wave the eighth country with a total of more than two million confirmed cases of infection. Authorities also report another 505 deaths related to the virus. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in February, 70,900 people in Italy have died with or from the virus. That is the highest number in Europe and the fifth highest in the world.
Vaccine delivery to EU countries begins
Delivery of the corona vaccine from the Biontech / Pfizer companies to the EU countries begins. The vans are ready to leave the Pfizer site in Puurs, Belgium, a company spokesman said at the request of the dpa on Wednesday. This will ensure “that national health authorities across Europe can start their vaccination programs as of December 27.” Also in Germany, the first doses of the vaccine will be injected on Sunday.
Work is now in full swing “to prepare the first batches for distribution,” he said from Pfizer. However, for security reasons, at this time “no details of individual deliveries are given.”
The Pfizer spokesperson announced that the Puurs plant, south of Antwerp, will continue to operate and will play an important role “in our global production and delivery operations as a formulation, filling and processing location for Europe and the rest of the world (except USA).) Touch “. Based on current forecasts, it is assumed “that we will produce up to 1.3 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine worldwide in 2021.”
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US orders another 100 million doses of Biontech vaccine
The United States ordered an additional 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer. The United States had already ordered that amount with the first order. The vaccination doses, which are produced on-site for use in the U.S., will be delivered by July 31, 2021, the companies announced Wednesday.
This should allow 200 million Americans to get vaccinated, because the vaccine must be given twice for the best possible efficacy. Both lots are said to cost nearly $ 2 billion each. The United States has also ordered 200 million doses of vaccine from Moderna. This vaccine also received emergency approval in the US a few days ago.
The coronavirus reaches Antarctica
The coronavirus has reached a research station in Antarctica and has now reached every continent. At least 36 people infected with corona have been registered in the “Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme” pavilion in Chile. Those infected are 26 military personnel and 10 civilians from a maintenance company, Chilean media reported, citing the army that operates the station.
The “Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme” station is located in the extreme north of the Antarctic Peninsula in West Antarctica. For months, the southern continent had been one of the last places where you could quietly hang out with people in locked rooms.
